With the launch of Dell AI for Telecom, the goal is to make it easier for CSPs to consume and benefit from new AI-enabled solutions
As 5G continues to evolve and communications service providers (CSPs) work to become digital platform companies more akin to hyperscalers, the network is getting more complex, the services are getting more complex, and managing both is often an exercise in reactively putting out fires rather than proactively delivering value. With the mainstreaming of artificial intelligence (AI), CSPs have an opportunity to align goals around network optimization and automation with imperatives around more effective network monetization. And as the vision for AI in the telecoms sector comes into focus, it’s increasingly apparent that putting AI to work will take ecosystem-led thinking and acting.
Dell Technologies embraces this ecosystem-centric approach in its latest solution, Dell AI for Telecom, which brings together the AI muscle of NVIDIA with domain expertise from a range of third parties. Dell’s Sandro Tavares, director of marketing for the Telecom Systems Business, explained to RCR Wireless News that working with niche specialists gives these smaller firms a strong route to market through Dell, and gives Dell more comprehensive solutions built on its infrastructure and realized through its services organization.
“What we are doing as part of our AI program is really trying to curate these solutions with our partners, and looking to these great ideas that are coming out of the ecosystem. [Then] making them available to our customers…,making these solutions easier to be consumed.”
Tavares continued: “As our industry is evolving, you see many more players out there creating extremely interesting and useful technology solutions.” While this expanded aperture for innovation is a good thing on paper, it does add complexity from the perspective of CSP trying to navigate the rise of AI along with a long list of other priorities. “That’s why we believe that companies like Dell, they do play a role in basically getting this whole…ecosystem more easily consumable.” This belief informed the composition of Dell AI for Telecom.
Click here to watch the full interview with Tavares.
Announced in September, Dell AI for Telecom, an iteration of the Dell AI Factory with NVIDIA solution set announced in May at Dell Technologies World, holistically brings together data, infrastructure, software, services and use cases in manner designed to help CSPs quickly put together the pieces needed to align their technology strategy with their business goals. With regard to ecosystem partners, Dell AI for Telecom includes a number of technology integrations designed to help CSPs more effectively use AI to drive operational efficiency and network monetization. Launch partners and applications include:
- Amdocs: Dell has integrated Amdocs’ amAIz Copilots, which are industry-specific AI assistants designed for various telecom domains. These copilots provide contextual and human-like interactions and can automate tasks like network management and customer care, making operations more efficient and enhancing customer engagement. This integration helps CSPs reduce operational costs and improve customer service capabilities.
- Kinetica: Dell utilizes Kinetica’s SQL-GPT, a conversational AI platform that allows for complex data queries using natural language instead of SQL commands. This platform provides real-time data analysis across 5G and Open RAN environments, enabling faster decision-making and improved network optimization. This helps operators in areas like network troubleshooting and performance monitoring.
- Iternal: Iternal’s AI solution automates content creation, allowing operators to generate up-to-date and multi-language content more efficiently. This is particularly useful for managing customer communication and marketing, as it reduces the time and effort needed to produce consistent content, thus enhancing user experience and productivity.
- Synthefy: Synthefy’s technology enables predictive maintenance and network stress testing by analyzing time series data and providing forecasts and insights based on specific network conditions. This capability helps operators proactively manage network capacity and detect potential issues before they affect service quality.
Tavares talked through the present focus of telco AI on network optimization, and how this continues to take shape as the technology continues to be proven and commercialized. Right now, he said, “There’s a lot of discussion around network optimization…You’re basically getting more out of the equipment that’s installed.” Turning attention to network monetization, Tavares divided it into two tranches: first is defining the service, second is figuring out how to manage the service across its lifecycle.
He gave the example of edge AI inferencing provided to enterprise by CSPs through a GPU-as-a-Service (GPUaaS) model. “That can help enterprises have access to processing capacity for AI workloads…in an on-demand way;” Tavares also noted that bundling edge AI with connectivity meshes with data sovereignty requirements. The second step here involves the service management and orchestration (SMO), business support system (BSS), and other backend software-based tooling needed to dynamically provision, meter, charge for and guarantee the GPUaaS offering. “There is a clear opportunity there,” he said.
Given its four decades in enterprise IT, Dell Technologies is no stranger to supporting digital transformation. “And obviously we’ve learned a thing or two,” Tavares said. “We’re combining the transformational expertise with the telecom expertise and applying [it]…We are the center of AI deployments basically in every single vertical out there in the world, and we are learning. We are constantly learning everyday. And we will also be able to apply these learnings to the telecommunications industry.”